Privacy policy

This policy explains how the Independent Human Rights Observatory (IHRO) handles information you share with us — in particular through the Reporting & Documentation Center, the contact form, and applications. It covers victims, family members, lawyers, witnesses, and anyone else who contacts us.

Case reports & forms: the details you choose to provide about an incident, the affected person, and any documents you attach (medical, legal, photographic, etc.).

Contact details: only if you provide them. You may report anonymously.

Technical data: minimal server logs needed to operate and secure the site. We do not use advertising or third-party tracking.

To carry out a preliminary assessment of a reported case and, where appropriate, an independent medical, forensic, legal or human-rights review; to produce documentation and reports; and to contact you if you asked us to. We do not use your data for any unrelated purpose.

The safety of those who report is our priority. You may submit anonymously and share only what you are comfortable with. You can ask that your identity, or the identity of the affected person, be kept confidential.

Secure submissions are encrypted in your browser (PGP) before they reach us, where an encryption key is configured; they are decrypted only on an offline, access-controlled basis. All traffic uses TLS, and data is encrypted at rest. Uploaded files are stored in access-controlled storage.

Submission content is restricted, on a strict need-to-know basis, to a designated Submissions Officer and a Super Admin. Access to sensitive records is audit-logged. We never sell, rent or publicly expose your personal data.

We do not share your personal data with third parties except where you explicitly consent, or where strictly required by law and compatible with the safety of those involved.

We keep case data only as long as necessary for documentation and legitimate purposes, then securely delete it. You may ask us about retention for your specific submission.

Data is hosted within the European Union.

Subject to legal and safety constraints, you may request information about the data you submitted, ask for corrections, or request its deletion. Quote your submission reference when you contact us.

Where a case concerns a child, we apply the principle of the best interests of the child and additional care in handling identifying information.

We may update this policy; the current version always appears on this page. For any privacy question, please use the Contact page.